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By Yantoultra Ngui, Elisa Anzolin and Giulia Segreti
SINGAPORE/MILAN/ROME (Reuters) -Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek will increase its stake in Ermenegildo Zegna Group to 10%, the companies said on Tuesday, as the Italian luxury fashion house targets a global expansion in the resilient ultra-luxury market.
The announcement confirmed a Reuters report earlier on Tuesday.
Temasek is exploring investment opportunities in Europe, where volatility resulting from U.S. President Donald Trump’s global trade war has made some companies more attractive on valuation grounds.
One person familiar with the transaction told Reuters that Temasek saw “fertile ground” in Zegna, which is increasingly open to international investors.
Under the deal expected to close by July 30, Temasek will purchase 14.1 million Zegna treasury shares at $8.95 each for $126.4 million, the companies said in a statement.
Added to the 12.7 million shares it previously acquired on the open market, that brings Temasek’s total stake to 10%.
“With Temasek’s partnership, we are even better positioned to help strengthen our organic expansion globally,” Zegna Chairman and CEO Ermenegildo “Gildo” Zegna said.
Top-tier luxury consumers, those spending over 50,000 euros ($57,660) annually, continue to spend despite global economic uncertainty.
Though less than 1% of the market, they account for 23% of industry value, according to a report from the Boston Consulting Group. Their spending has remained steady even as aspirational buyers pull back.
Nagi Hamiyeh, Temasek’s head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, is expected to join Zegna’s board as a non-executive director at Zegna’s next annual general meeting in June 2026, according to the statement.
He said the investment reflects Temasek’s confidence in Zegna’s positioning and long-term value creation potential.
Proceeds from the transaction will be used to strengthen Zegna’s balance sheet and support expansion into new markets, particularly in Asia, where Temasek’s regional expertise is expected to play an important role, the statement read.
($1 = 0.8672 euros)
(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore, Elisa Anzolin in Milan and Giulia Segreti in Rome, editing by Gianluca Semeraro, Louise Heavens and Joe Bavier)
